SFA 4/16 Aggravation

Intamin Fan

Wednesday, April 16, 2003 9:37 PM

I arrived at Six Flags America around 12pm and decided to hold off on the season pass, and paid my $9 for parking. The girl who gave me my ticket and park map was very nice and courteous. Getting up to the entrance, I see long lines. It took me about 15 minutes to get through the gates, which was better than I expected. I used my free ticket from last November, which didn’t make me fee too bad about paying $9 to park.

The first ride of the day was my usual first coaster of the season, Roar! It wasn’t running any different than last year, and that’s a good thing. I did however notice that they replaced a lot of wood in the off-season. Next up was Joker’s Jinx, which had about a 20-minute wait, due to one-train operation (I will rant about this shortly). I had forgotten how much faster this ride is in comparison to Flight of Fear, and the headchoppers are everywhere too.

Meeting up with Go With Gravity and his friend Brian, we decided we needed a Superman fix. Ooops, there’s a train stuck on the lift, and there are people onboard. Of course it’s stuck right before the top of the chainlift. You’ve heard of a walkback, well, everyone onboard got a walkdown. I’m just glad it wasn’t me. So we have one coaster down for the count. Hey, let’s go to Batwing. As soon as we get down there, they’re having technical difficulties. I knew the line was too short as busy as it was today. That’s two down. So, Chaos anyone? Sure.

Passing Penguin’s Blizzard River, it’s amazing to see the ride in person. It’s much more impressive in person. The section after the helix is really long. And yes, the map was right, it is a mirror image of the animation. As far as progress goes, only one part of the slide was missing, and that was coming off of the lift, which isn’t finished yet. They do however have supports up for it. Construction looked very busy, and it has definitely changed the look of Gotham City.

We go back and ride Roar again, which as usual has a minimal wait. A DDR round is played by GWG and Brian. Yes, you read that right, SFA finally has a DDR machine (3rd Mix)! Next, we decide to check out the line for Mind Eraser. It’s well over 5 minutes, which is about as long as we’re willing to wait for it. Oh yeah, and there’s only one train running. Tilt-A-Whirl anyone? Sure! This ride may be decades old, but it still packs a punch.

Next, we go and ride Wild One, which was insane as it was last year. I was out of my seat many times during the course of the ride. I believe I was in row three. Leaving Wild One, we look at the sad site that is Two-Face the Flip Side. There’s no train. Start Rant: They’ve had all F*#@ing fall and winter to work on these rides, and there’s no train on Flip Side? As busy as it was because of spring break, they could’ve used it.

Heading back to Gotham City, we take another ride on Joker’s Jinx. Why are they only running the yellow train? It was only a 20-minute wait, but still. It is while waiting in line for Jinx that we notice they finally got the red-train on S:ROS to go over the lift. So, we decided we’d head down there and check things out. They had a rope and both train-track fences down leading to the queue. Apparently, we weren’t the only the only ones noticing the cycling of the train, as the crowds started getting thicker, waiting in anticipation like dogs for there meal. After five test runs, they come out and raise the gates, and removed the rope. Running of the Bulls anyone? Not for us as it was a mad chaotic rush for the station. I’m too old for this stuff. This was sadly my last ride of the day, but it was a high note to leave the park on.

Conclusion: As hot as it was (87 degrees), they definitely could’ve used Renegade Rapids and Typhoon Seacoaster. The one-train operation on ME, S:ROS, JJ, and Batwing was just inexcusable. With no seats, or any other parts in sight, who only knows how long Two-Face will be down. Let’s hope SFA doesn’t turn into another SFWOA with one-train operations. The only “rumor” I might have is that I saw two large trucks loaded with drywall in front of me at the parking booths. I can’t imagine it’s all for Blizzard River, or is it?------------------If you have a problem with clones, the solution is real simple—Stop traveling.

Sam A. Marks

Thursday, April 17, 2003 10:59 AM

You really should've read trip reports from last weekend before going, alot of your upsets would have been simply done away with. I can assure you that neither you, me nor SFA wants these coasters running one train, but the sad fact is, the coasters just weren't ready for opening day. Two Face has everyone frustrated, but there's only so much they can do, AND get the train back, w/o cutting corners. I'm afraid that batwing may be something we just have to live with :(

Did you notice how incredibly clean the park was? How every ride had a height measurement bar at the entrance? How well trained the ops were?

Intamin Fan

Thursday, April 17, 2003 1:15 PM

Yes, I did notice how clean the park was, but I didn't have a how lot of time to study it as I had to leave at 4pm. As for the training, I thought it was funny that a girl was reading the spiel for Krypton Comet off a piece of paper. Hey, it's better than not saying it at all. We also had a slight delay on the Tilt-A-Whirl due to a new employee being trained in its operation. I wouldn't say I had a bad day, just that things could've gone a little bit better. Hey, I've got all spring, summer, and fall left, right? ------------------If you have a problem with clones, the solution is real simple—Stop traveling.

Lord Gonchar

We were there the same day. Pretty much the same deal. Except both S:ROS and Batwing got up and running later in the day. (after you left)

Both woodies at SFA surprised me. Very nice wood in D.C.

That third hill on S:ROS may be the perfect hill. Ejector air at the top and it floats all the way down. It was the best of both worlds and it was GOOD. Another pleasant surprise there.

After reading the big thread on the general buzz board about SFA employees, I was worried I'd get another "Six Flags" experience. From the time we paid to park until we left passing through the gate, the employees did a top notch job. Everyone was VERY friendly and most seemed to be having fun with their jobs. In fact, as far as staff goes, this is easily the best SF park I've been to.